Geographic Information System (GIS) applications are part of a computer technology for capturing, storing, analyzing and managing data and associated attributes that are spatially referenced to the Earth (or other mapped geography). Generally, a GIS application can integrate, store, edit, analyze, share, and display geographically-referenced information. More specifically, a GIS application can allow a user to view maps, create interactive queries (e.g., user created searches), analyze spatial information, edit geographically-referenced data, and present the results from all these operations. A GIS application can also link information or attributes to location data, such as people to addresses, buildings to parcels, or streets within a transportation network. A GIS user can then layer that information to provide an integrated view of the information relative to a map so as to develop a better understanding of how the many different variables interrelate or work together.
However, a user's interaction with a GIS application can become quite complex, with the user incorporating information from various GIS layers, attributes, and locations of the GIS data view. As more functionality and available data become incorporated into such systems, it becomes more difficult for a user to recreate a particular view for analysis at a later time.